The concept of order made a perennial impact on Ottoman political thought. In particular, the notion of world order, nizam-ı âlem, appeared as the raison d’être of the Ottoman polity during the heyday of the Empire. Throughout the centuries, world order had been interpreted variously in the treatises of Ottoman political philosophers in accordance with the current political environment. This study will analyze Hasan Kafi Al-Akhisari’s (1544-1615) conceptualization of order in his seminal work Usûlü’l-hikem fi nizâmi’l âlem (The Principles of wisdom for the order of the world). It will scrutinize the concept of order with special regard to its particular intellectual and socio-political context under the framework of the conceptual history approach. The changes and parallels in the interpretation of order with regard to sociopolitical context allow us to understand the ambivalent nature of the concept of order in Ottoman political thought. It is worth investigating the competing discourses on this concept during Akhisari’s time in order to reveal his contribution to the conceptual debate. Hence, a synchronic analysis of the conceptualization of order during the 16th century and early 17th century will be employed. It will allow us to understand the manifold interpretations about the notions of decline, progress, reform, and renewal. Apart from that, the concept of order was strongly associated with a set of moral principles. It makes this concept loaded with different political and social interpretations. Through a discussion of Akhisari’s conceptualization of order, this paper will also investigate the ways of the legitimation of the omnipresent state mechanism and well-disciplined social order.